A Baby Blessing

This morning my nephew Kyle blessed his baby daughter Leesie Elizabeth. We woke at the crack of dawn (it seemed) to leave the house by 7:20 to pick up my mom and make it to east Mesa for an 8am sacrament meeting. We had a fabulous breakfast afterwards of french toast, bacon, fruit, and to-die-for buttermilk syrup. I'm not a fan of maple syrup so this stuff tasted amazing! I got to take some home, so the first person to call and make me french toast will get to try some, I'll even bring some berries to go with it.

I had not visited Kyle and his wife Savannah since they had the baby because I knew that Tasha would want to hold her. We were all sniffly 8 weeks ago when she was born and I didn't want to burden a new mother with snot, even if it was probably just allergies. So what was the first thing Tasha said to me when we got to my brother's house after the blessing? You got it, "mom, I want to hold the baby." If you've not heard this it is because she says it very quietly into my ear. It's a bit cute the first 2 times, but quite annoying the next 20. Try to listen when we first walk into a room and you might catch the cuteness. Somehow my mom got a hold of Leesie and Tasha finagled her way into holding her. She's a doll and I'm sure that her outfit (lace headband, bracelet, studded white shoes, and satin blessing dress) cost more than my wedding dress.
On another note, this was the oddest testimony meeting I've been to in a while. In our home ward we always have the same 2-3 people start off, followed by a heartfelt yet lengthy story from someone, maybe a crier or 2, and we definitely go over time most months. After the bishop bore his testimony there were only 20 minutes left for testimonies. Then we waited, and waited and waited for someone to go up. Finally someone got up and I thought, OK, here we go now the influx of people will line up. Nope, after he was done we waited and waited and waited. Bill had asked me if I was going to get up to which I replied, "no, this isn't even my ward." But of course my heart was now thumping the thump of the spirit. Tasha wasn't even in my face distracting me so the thumping grew louder. Darn my nephew that was entertaining her. Another lady got up, was a little weepy, sat down and we waited. I could see my niece trying to shake it off and apparently it is a big deal for her to get up. We waited, someone else went, more thumping, waiting, and finally Savannah got up. She's so sweet and loving and appreciative and she belongs with Kyle. They are fabulous for each other. The problem was, when she sat down there was still 10 minutes left and nobody was budging. What's going on here?! How can a ward with enough Aaronic priesthood holders to pass the sacrament without help from the Elders not have enough people to fill 20 minutes of testimony time?! Thump, thump, thump.

The thing is, this particular meeting was meaningful to me. The very first time I ever attended a meeting at a LDS church was when my nephew Kyle was blessed. Now here he was blessing his daughter. It was significant and brought a rush of emotion and spirit that I couldn't contain. This is how I began my testimony this morning. (after apologizing and saying that my brother would probably chastise me later) The next 2 times I went to church was for 2 more blessings. I babysat these boys quite often in my teenage years and often times I would spend the night at their house because it would be pretty late by the time my brother and his wife got home. If I stayed after on a Saturday night, the boys would always ask me to come to church with them. I never had a dress... until I decided I wanted to go. I called my brother and asked them if they wanted to go out, spent the night, and hid a dress in the car. I waited for the question and sure enough, Kyle and TJ came through for me. I think it floored their parents that I was prepared... you know, like a missionaries dream. It was testimony Sunday, by brother got up, and I saw him cry for either the first or second time in my life. It was all uphill from there. I don't even remember the lessons or the missionaries because it just felt right. I lived on his testimony and that of his wife and her family for several years. Now I have my own.

Now as you share your testimony in a meeting it is sometimes hard to decide where to look. If you look at the people you know you might cry. If you look at strangers they might be asleep. There was one beautiful lady on the 3rd row that kept me on track with a nod or 2 in the right places. I couldn't see my mom, which was good. Bill looked amused. Kyle and Savannah were snuggling, mostly because she was still emotional from getting up herself. My brother wasn't looking at me. He was looking at the ceiling, blinking. Sweet, sentimental guy is really getting sappy in his old age. We never did talk about it, that's just how things work in our family.

Anyway, I have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I bore it today. Hopefully Bill counts this as an answer to his challenge to us 2 months ago in FHE. I love him, the righteous way he exercises his priesthood, and the leadership that he gives our family. Thanks babe, and next time just wrap your arms around me and hold me down.